Kickoff meeting

Woah, I'm behind here... work has been pretty busy and there haven't been any major changes at the house of late, so I've been slacking off on the posting.

However, I had my kickoff meeting with my contractor on Thursday, and I really feel that I made a great decision. We reviewed everything we had talked about the first time he was out to the house and discussed some alternate ideas to consider as we move into design.

The tentative time frame is that I'll have drawings of the current floor and property plans within 4 weeks and after that we'll start the design magic of removing walls and moving stuff around. All told, it will likely be 3-4 months before all the permit business is complete to start construction.

Not sure how much I'll be posting for the rest of this year unless something major happens, so have a wonderful Christmas season, and check back in the new year!

Holiday cheer

I toyed with the idea of not getting a Christmas tree this year since I'm still basically camping in The Dump, but then I decided The Dump and I could both use some holiday cheering.

I purchased and decorated my tree last weekend, hung a string of the big bobble lights on the front gutter, and put a wreath on the door as well as one over the fireplace. My halls are suitably decked and it's actually quite pretty! You almost don't notice the cracks in the walls and ceiling, and since I've laid out a rug, the hardwood floors look respectable.

I hadn't been home at that small window of time where there it's dark enough to see the lights, but there is enough ambient light for The Dump to show up in a photograph. I should be able to accomplish that this weekend.

Also on tap for this weekend is to weed my flower bed. I see lots of weeds sprouting up over there! It rained for two days this week, so I hope the ground will release the weeds without too much fuss.

Big Step

Alright, I have FINALLY taken the first big step forward. I have chosen a design-build contractor and am getting down to business of this remodel. We're meeting at the house on Tuesday to go over the contract and plan the schedule for design work, drawings and permit applications before the actual construction start date will be set.

I cannot begin to describe how relieved and excited I am right now. It feels good to have finally made the decision and to be moving forward with purpose.

Long weekend

The long holiday weekend helped me attempt to wrap up a few odds and ends around the house. I painted the hallway, which is the last of the painting extravaganza, and it looks quite nice. I also hung the door back on the bathroom so that I can trap some heat in there while showering and also offer my guests some privacy when they need it.

However, I ran into some trouble when putting the doors back on the bathroom vanity. The hinges are not the exact same fit as the previous hinges, so I either need to re-drill mounting holes on the frame, or slightly chisel out on the actual door. The old hinges are long gone in the trash, and I haven't decided which option to make the new ones work sucks the least, so I am presently door-less (and as a result, photo-less for the completed bathroom project--sorry, I know the suspense is killing you!).

Mom attempted to use the wax stripper on the living room floor, and after much scrubbing with little result, we decided it is not a worthwhile endeavor. So I rolled out a carpet that was in her garage and called it done for now. :)

Sunday I decided I was fed up with sitting on my bed for everything, and given the speed at which I am moving on selecting a contractor, it's going to be a while before I need to vacate for construction. Soooo, I decided I needed to bite the bullet and buy the loveseat I have chosen. It's small enough that I'm sure I can fit it in storage when construction time comes.

Off to Ikea Mom and I go with a list of a few items I seek. The loveseat was out of stock, so I bought the two chairs I was planning for the living room. I also bought a rug for the bedroom to try to take the chill off the floor, and a runner for the hallway for the same reason (also to cover up the floor that was second in line for the wax solvent process).

I'm quite pleased with the net results--the runner picks up the blue of the walls as well as the green bathroom tile that peeks out, and is much warmer on the tootsies, the rug for the bedroom makes it somewhat easier to get out of bed into the chill of my house, and the chairs are all that I was hoping they would be--small but chic. The best part is that all this stuff fit into my wee little car in one trip from Ikea. That was quite satisfying. Who needs an SUV when you have an A3?

Paint, part II

I seriously love paint. It's instant gratification (mostly), and it's easily the cheapest way to spruce up a place.

I finally got around to painting the vanity and the trim in the bathroom, and it looks maaaaarvelous. I hate to admit it, but this trim painting experience wasn't quite as painful as the last one. My super-cheapo paint ($1/quart!) from the mis-mix bin at OSH went on like a dream (pics posted once I get the doors back on the cupboards).

I have made a major mental note to buy that brand again should I find myself needing to paint trim at any point in the future. I went ahead and painted the trim in the hallway too (while I had the active brush), and will be using the coming long weekend to do the ceiling and walls with some paint leftover from the condo. Nice and neutral, and most importantly, CLEAN and FRESH! And that will be the last of the mini-improvements until the big stuff starts.

My pansies made it through the week and are putting out lots of little blooms just as hoped. Something is eating them though, so I'll go out one evening this week on snail patrol (ick!).

Still waiting for the bid from a contractor who has been coming through with subs for the past 1-2 weeks. I've placed calls to two others recommended by Mrs Blanco and hopefully they will engage and whip out a quote in quick fashion. Right now, I'm tentatively planning to take the week between Christmas and New Year's off so that I can hunker down and do the planning with the designer/contractor of choice, and also go out and pick materials to refine the budget some more.

Gardening

My neighbor's yard is really shaping up--the sidewalk looks good, but the patio I don't like so much. In any event, I needed to step up my efforts for the cutest house on the block competition, even though I know the big work down the road will make me a shoo-in for that title. This recent activity next door called for some short term tactics that wouldn't be too far off course for the long term strategy, or be too much of a time or monetary resource drain. Bedding plants to the rescue!

We got lots of rain on Saturday, which I figured would help release the weeds from the rock-solid soil. It did, to a certain extent, and I pounced on Sunday. I pulled up lots of weeds from the bed that runs between the driveway and the fence, but there were some that still wouldn't budge. The soil in Redwood City is very heavy, dense clay, so it was a very muddy, messy task, but strangely satisfying.

I went to the garden center and got some gypsum and compost to mix into the bed for an interim fix. I know I'll need to do it again in a BIG way (with the help of more powerful equipment) when I deploy the big garden plan, but for now, I wanted to be able to plant some seasonal color. Mixing it in proved to be a challenge since the existing soil was like concrete about 2 inches down. So, I mixed it as best I could without damaging myself and then plugged in a flat of red and white pansies. They are so cute and perky and cheery, and just the trick to add some pop for the winter months:
As I left for work this morning, I caught myself talking to them, encouraging them to grow.

I am, maybe a wee bit crazy.
There are some weedy patches at each end of the bed that I just could not clear (see above, far right--the whole bed was like that), so I'll work on them again after the next rain, and will plug in some more pansies when the time comes.

Settling in

Last Sunday I completely committed to The Dump. I had previously mostly committed to The Dump, but was still staying a few night a week at Mom's house. All that changed when mom hit the limit with the feline's nighttime antics. So, Mali and I have taken up semi-permanent residence. I haven't moved all my belongings in or anything, but I'm essentially living there 100% of the time now and will do so until the heavy lifting construction starts. At the rate I'm going with actually choosing a contractor, that won't be until spring.

This means I needed to make some adjustments to the house so that I could maintain some semblance of order. Last weekend I cleaned out the bathroom drawers and lined them with fresh contact paper. This weekend I did the same with some of the kitchen cabinets so I could actually put stuff away without feeling like I was contaminating it.

I also scrubbed the floor again and then did a quick pass with Mop n Glo to make it shiny and extra clean looking. Then I did the thing that I had been avoiding...I cleaned the stove. Nasty, nasty, greasy, grimy, sludgey mess that it was, it cleaned up pretty well. There is some very cooked-on gunk by the pilot lights, but for the most part that is going to have to stay. Since it's all clean and I'm going crazy from not being able to cook a decent meal, I went and got my pots and pans out of storage. I grabbed my toaster oven too since I have no intention of firing up my match-light oven.

In other news, my semi-blighty neighbor must realize he has some stiff competition for the cutest house on the block award. He's been BUSY out in his front yard for the past two weekends. Last weekend he was pruning the heck out of his citrus trees, and over the course of the past week, his concrete sidewalk disappeared. This weekend he was out there laying a new stone walkway. We chit-chatted a bit and he's amenable to the work we need to do to the slab that is between our houses. Now if only I could get him to do something about his garbage cans that are in his front yard....

Rocking and Rolling!

So, I'm chilling at home with some vino, watching Grey's Anatomy on my computer when I should be doing something like, hmmmm....repairing the gaping hole in my hallway wall that had previously been covered with cheap wood paneling when there was that telltale earthquake sound (combo of thump and a massive house creaking). Only this wasn't a one shot deal, this one was a roller that lasted several seconds.

The Dump was wobbling, but it didn't fall down. Thank goodness since earthquake insurance is really expensive, so I opted out of it. :)

The geek in me loves this site that details all the recent earthquake activity. It usually has a bunch of little freckles all over it, but this time it revealed a massive box covering the south bay area. 5.6--not too shabby! The map reveals that there have already been a number of eeeny-weeny aftershocks in the same area. I didn't feel those since I'm some 25-30 miles away from the epicenter.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the black cat that was sitting on my doorstep this evening....

Composting underway

I arrived home on Friday to find my county-subsidized compost bin on my front porch. So exciting! I set it up Saturday afternoon and set about building my compost pile. I had that can full of apples, a huge pile of jasmine clippings, plus all the leaves that the magnolia tree drops EVERY day, so I knew I was well stocked for a good pile.

I laid a layer of jasmine branches to start and dumped the can of apples onto that since I knew I wouldn't be able to lift the can up to dump it into a partially filled bin. Then I added leaves and jasmine branches, layering them with more apples that were on the ground.

What I didn't realize is that I have enough yard waste for TWO or more compost bins. I abandoned Mt Jasmine figuring if nothing else, I could have the tree crew remove that when they come for the apple tree. Besides, the pile should cook down a bit in the coming weeks which will make room for the continual supply of fallen leaves from the magnolia tree.

After that was completed, I started pulling out the ground cover that had established itself in the driveway. Since we've had a bit of rain in the past month, it came up quite easily. I was pulling at a particularly large tuft when something moved. After jumping back, I went to take a closer look and found one of these little fellows in there. I thought about moving him to the same type of plant in an area where I wasn't going to remove them, but he was quite tangled in the plant and looked really fragile, so I decided I was finished gardening for the day. Hopefully he will have found another home by next weekend. If not, I'll set about relocating him.

Wish I'd been faster with the camera

Knowing how dirty the bathtub was (who am I kidding..knowing how dirty the ENTIRE house was), I should have known the pipes were not likely to be any better. I REALLY should have known this after I'd showered there the first time and was up to my ankles in water. But I snaked the drain and had no progress, so I assumed the pipes were just slow due to their age.

However, in a brilliant flash of wisdom this past weekend, I thought I'd try to "fix" the stopper to the tub, thinking maybe it's not fully open and that's causing the slow draining. I went from slow drain to no drain. Fearing I'd broken it in the stoppered position, I called a plumber.

He looked at it and said that it was simply clogged and proceeded to snake it. He spent 20 minutes snaking that bad boy and pulled out a hairball the size of a small rodent. I went running through the house to get the outside garbage can and tried not to puke. Unfortunately, I was not thinking clearly enough to go get the camera and so it went into the trash with no documentation.

He also replaced the diverter so that my shower head fully engages and I had a very satisfactory shower experience this morning. My bathroom is now officially fully functioning with no hiccups.

100% elbow grease--no photoshop involved, I promise!

Alright, you know The Dump was disgustingly filthy when I got it. I have mentioned this several times. The progress I made in the bathroom, little bedroom and living room prove it. however, with continued cleaning, it's all coming around.

When I saw the kitchen linoleum floor, I thought it was dated, a bit dirty and VERY worn (Assumed to be worn beyond recognition in some places) and I vacuumed/swiffered to pick up the big stuff, but that's about it. Since I've been staying there a few nights a week and padding to the coffee pot barefoot in the morning, I decided to scrub the floor. I quickly discovered that the floor is dated, VERY, VERY dirty and only a bit worn (under where the table probably was). Armed with a bucket of water with Murphy's Oil Soap and a scrub brush, I made an 18" swath of clean floor and decided I needed to photo-document it.

The following photos are completely un-retouched and may shock you. Viewer discretion is advised. :)

BEFORE (well, sort of. Do you see that "stripe" against the wall? That's clean floor, so this is technically a "during" photo):

Here's the "really worn" area:
AFTER (turns out it's worn only in patches):
BEFORE (Lovely 70's BROWN and yellow lino):
AFTER (Only moderately dated yellow & tan lino):
As if that is not proof enough, I opened the laundry room door after finishing in the kitchen, and saw the line o' grime:Yes, it is still ugly, and yes, it is still worn in areas, but other areas are shiny and clean. Now that the heavy scrubbing is out of the way, I'll go over it with some Mop n' Glo to make the whole thing look shiny and clean.

No news

No progress on The Dump this weekend as it was Nike Women's Marathon weekend! I did basic housekeeping and started steam cleaning the grout in the bathroom floor Saturday morning (amazing! Wish I had a photo of how it looked before), but since I slept in until 9:00 to be rested for the race, and we left for SF at 3:00, I didn't embark on any big projects.

But, the race was awesome, the post-race BBQ involved steaks the size of a child and lots of other yummies (including some of Kat's cookies that were seriously addictive), and I was in bed at 8:00. Read for a while, but definitely had the lights out by 9:00 for 10 house of sleepy time.

I was told to expect the bid from the contractor today, but I haven't seen it yet...

Super cute!

I put the finishing touches on my little pink room last night (opted out of painting bathroom trim since it was cold and damp out--it would have taken forever to dry and I'm sure I would have messed it up along the way). I have to say, it looks SUPER cute and I'm totally in love with it.

This is how it looked before:
And this is what it looks like now:

Even though I do not have a nice wide-angle camera the way most realtors do, I'm sure you get the idea that it's a drastic improvement.

Next up is to use the floor wax solvent I got last weekend to get rid of some of the grimy wax buildup on the floors. I sure hope it works!

And, since it's taken a gazillion attempts to get these two photos uploaded (Blogger was clearly having some issues this morning), you're just going to have to wait until later to see the bathroom photos. Sorry!

Painting trim

If I ever offer to help you paint, for the sake of our friendship and the sake of your desired outcome, do not hand me a brush and point to endless miles of trim. Vast expanses of walls and/or ceilings done with a roller--no problemo!

For as much as I love the way a fresh coat of paint changes a place (such an inexpensive upgrade!), and as much as I love rolling it onto walls, I HATE painting trim. That's probably because I'm a HORRIBLE trim painter as I rediscovered last night. I'm so horrible, I almost bagged it to leave half the baseboards primer white, especially since the room is going to be gutted in 6-9 months.

I struggled through it and got the job done. I'll hang the curtain tonight and will consider the little bedroom good to go. It looks pretty darn cute, truth be told.

I'm planning on camping there tonight so that I can finish the bathroom trim (ugh!). Photos tomorrow for sure.

Ouch!

My body aches this morning. I spent 90% of my waking time this weekend painting at The Dump. The results are FANTASTIC though, so I don't mind feeling stiff and sore. I got the little bedroom painted with my $4 gallon of pink paint, and the bathroom is now a nice lovely tan. The dot on the can lid didn't look that tan--more of a creamy white. Oh well--it's not bad at all, so I'm going to go with it. It achieved the desired result--a fresh looking bathroom where I don't feel dirty while trying to get clean. Same goes for the bedroom--it's REALLY pink, but it's fresh and cheery and most importantly, it's CLEAN. The difference is amazing.

I skimped in the bathroom and did only one really good coat on the walls (the can said it offered one-coat coverage, and it mostly delivered). The ceiling required 2 of the white-white I used, even though it is the same type of paint. That second coat was well worth the effort though. I think it helped that the bathroom was previously painted with semi-gloss paint--it went on quite smoothly. Even with the primer, the bedroom walls and ceiling sucked in the paint. They took two coats (thankfully I had enough paint!). The closet got only one coat because, well, it's a closet and it was the end of the day!

Unfortunately, we ran out of gas, so the trim work did not get done this weekend. So, I didn't take any photos since it's not 100% finished. Maybe later this week if I can get out there early enough after work one night.

I set up the twin bed in the bedroom and it looks quite cozy and fresh. Coincidentally, about a year ago I found some cute pink and brown bathroom textiles on uber-clearance at a closing Hold Everything store. I bought it up planning to re-do the bathroom at the condo, but then never got to it. I'll be using the striped shower curtain to cover the window, and a bath mat for stepping out of bed. The nester in me bought a brown duvet cover for my queen sized down duvet (since the room is cold, I want to be able to snuggle down) for $20 at Ikea. The colors all tie in nicely and it looks quite planned. HA! Nice work for a under $50.

Getting these two rooms freshened up and usable has made a big difference in the spirit of the place. It doesn't change that it's all going to get ripped out and remodeled soon, but at least the place feels a bit more perky and a little less Dumpy. If it means I can stay there more regularly until construction actually starts, I'm satisfied. I'm now using the big room for storage of tools, paint, etc so that the kitchen/living room stays tidy and I've closed the door to that bedroom so I don't even have to look at it.

Bargain shopping at OSH

Let me start by saying that I LOVE the idea of the mis-mix discount bin at hardware stores. Random colors that were mis-formulated end up here instead of going to waste. Some of the colors are not anything I'd be able to use, and there is definitely not critical mass for a big project. I've never actually put it to use, but it is an idea touted by a lot of popular budget design shows. Quarts are $1, gallons are $4! Wheeeee! It's definitely a good price for some fun.

I went to OSH late Saturday night to pick up some supplies, and also had the notion that I'm going to need to paint the bathroom once I finish patching the wall over the tub. The mis-mix bin is right outside the front door, and it was a treasure trove this time given my needs.

I found two quarts of semi-gloss in nice benign white. They are not the same color, but I figure they are close enough to offer decent coverage of the bathroom for my purposes. One quart is probably not enough, but since this is a short-term upgrade, I'm OK with a little mix and mingle of two pretty close colors. Whatever the case, it'll be an improvement over what's there! One can is even the special "kitchen and bath, mildew-resistant" formula. Yay!

As I was digging through, I came across a gallon of flat interior paint in a nice, happy pink. Again, I'm not a fan of flat paint, nor was I looking for pink paint, but I thought that for a short term upgrade of the little bedroom which will be my crash pad for the next few months, a $4 can of paint is right up my alley. It would make it cleaner looking, cheery and would also seal in the mildew that is on the walls in a few places as a result of lack of ventilation. The current paint job is so old, it's not at all able to withstand scrubbing to remove the mildew.

So I bought a full-priced can of primer since I'm sure the walls are going to suck in whatever I put on them, some rollers and then made my way to the wall patching supply area where I found a roll of adhesive mesh to use with some drywall compound to patch up cracks and holes that spackling can't handle (i.e. the bathroom wall).

Happy with my plan, I went home to prep the little bedroom for painting. I started out saying I was just going to fill the biger holes and ignore the little thumbtack holes. However, there were SO many that I spackled many of the larger clusters in one big swipe. There were far too many, so I eventually gave up, telling myself this is not a long-term improvement. This is really to make the place clean for occasional use and as a small perk me up until the big perk me up stuff starts happening.

Mom and I set about to painting on Sunday, and as predicted, the walls sucked in the primer like a dry sponge sucks up spilled water. Even the primer white was an improvement over what was there before! I hope the primer does it's job and the paint goes on evenly. I have only enough paint for one coat, and may even water it down to make it more of a wash so that it goes further. I won't get down to the business of painting until next weekend, but here is a test patch of the color I'll be using:

It's much pinker on the wall than the little dot on the top of the can seemed. But, for $4, I'm not too concerned...

Camping

Jen and Chris are selling their house, so in an effort to make it look more spacious, they moved out some furniture. Happily for me, an item they were looking to remove for the next month is a twin bed. That means I can crash at The Dump on occasion if I want to stay there late working, or be there early for something. yay!

I camped at the house Saturday night. Just like camping, it was cold and there were strange noises in the night, but I survived and it was nice to get up at 7:30 and hop to it. I'm looking forward to doing that on weekends and maybe a few night a week for the next month. If it proves to be really helpful, I'll go buy a twin bed of my own after they move theirs over to the new house.

Lawn mowing and soap scum

Busy day out at The Dump on Saturday... I went to the Nike run in SF with Eryn and then planned to spend the rest of the day working to get the bathroom clean and functional. That meant that I needed to get the shower useable (read: clean enough to use without getting cooties).

So, I worked on scrubbing the soap scum off the tub some more. I had made great progress with the stuff on the tiles last weekend, but the layer on the tub was persistent. It had definitely had plenty of time to accumulate! I finally resorted to scraping most of it off with a straight razor blade, which sped things up considerably. It's still not gleaming, but I think if I keep spraying it whenever I'm there, the lingering bits will eventually melt away.

After some yardwork (mowed the lawn, raked up magnolia leaves, pruned back the jasmine stumps even more with some long-handled pruners and raked the driveway smooth), I was ready to test the shower. But I had to keep it quick since I hadn't repaired the wall over the tile yet. At least it was mostly clean.

BEFORE:

Many years of soap scum, mostly deteriorated caulk, a few spots of grout failure, plus the water damaged wall made for a really ugly picture. Too bad I framed it poorly and you can't see where the tub meets the floor--that was pretty gross too.

The one advantage to all that soap scum is that it sealed the grout pretty well. The black mildew scrubbed right off instead of penetrating and staining the actual grout.

When I went to peel the poorly executed caulk from the top edge of the tile, half the wall came with it. Alas, I did not photograph that interim step. Just know that it was pretty bad.

AFTER:
Note the gleaming tiles, once again white tub, mad-crazy caulk job and the kick-ass patch job (more about that later). Mom cannot decide which is more impressive--my caulk or drywall skills.

I still need to figure out how to remove the soap dish. It's pretty much corroded into uselessness, so it might as well go away.

Here is a close up of the tub just because this is a miraculous comeback for a 50 year old tub:

In addition to the straight razor, the other product that made this miracle happen is Lysol Bathroom Cleaner (formerly Lysol Basin, Tub & Tile). I had stopped using it about a year ago in lieu of less toxic cleaning products. As much as I like the Method Home line of cleansers, I knew I need to bring in the big guns for this task. I used a whole bottle on the bathroom over the course of one week, which I think burned all the hair out of my nostrils even with the window open for ventilation. Once I've achieved baseline cleanliness, I'll go back to the nicer for me and the environment stuff.

Zero lot line

So, I'm pretty close to a neighbor on one side. The other side has a fence and a wee little strip of dirt (where the dog run will eventually go). I've taken to calling the fenceless side the "alley" since that's what it feels like. I've tried to explain this to a number of folks, but I clearly wasn't doing a good job, so here is a photo:
To give you a better idea of the layout of the house, that's the laundry room door, kitchen windows (the ones over the sink), bathroom, then large bedroom.

I have a door onto the alley from my laundry room, but my neighbor does not. In fact, there is no reason for him to ever enter the alley because his access to his yard is on the other side of his house. However, under that blue tarp is a bed frame that needs to be removed pronto, and there are a couple screens hanging out back there too. I plan to discuss that with him tonight when I'm out there to mow the lawn (with my awesome new Brill reel mower that Nancy gave me--so cool!).

Haircut

Yesterday's major accomplishment at The Dump was to remove the jasmine that was growing wild on the front porch and carport. While it was very pretty when it was in bloom, and I'm sure smelled like heaven, it a) was way too much for the little house and b) needed to come down anyway when it came time for doing the roof. Probably was going to be in the way of wrapping the house for termite fumigation too.

I decided to remove it now rather than wait. I wanted an instant improvement and I definitely got one!

Here is what it looked like a few weeks ago:

And here's what it looks like now:
It was growing up into the roof and was tied on with string and twist-ties and looked like it had never been thinned out. All in all, it was quite a masterpiece of plant gone wild. There are some really thick, woody stalks that I could not cut with my hand pruners, so I'll get some long handled loppers this week to take care of them next weekend to bring them down to ground level. I'm not sure if it will send out new sprouts or if I cut it back enough to kill it. If I didn't kill it, I wouldn't mind having it climb back up, but would definitely do it in a more controlled fashion so it doesn't overpower the little house.

When I have someone out to remove the apple tree, I'll have them limb up the magnolia while they are there. I think that will do a lot to open up the view of the house from the street. Much like trimming shaggy bangs...

We also took a whack at the shed attached at the back of the house, but it wasn't ready to budge, so we left it there.

And I now have a nice, clean living room:
(remember how it looked on the 5 cent tour?):

And here is an apple-free yard:
Worked on the bathroom yesterday too. That is some persistent soap scum, but it is coming along. No photos of that until it's totally clean so you get the full effect. However, it's cleaning up so nicely, I'll be able to shower there if necessary without getting the heebie jeebies or needing to wear shower shoes.

A good day's work

Today Mom and I rolled up to The Dump around 11:30 and got down to the business of cleaning in a way this place has probably not experienced in 20 years.

We removed the rail and bracket shelving in the living room and large bedroom as well as some random-ass shelving and weird things attached to the wall. Then some sweeping and vacuuming throughout and hands and knees floor scrubbing in the big bedroom to reveal some much-improved hardwood floors:

As a reminder, this is what they looked like before. They are still pretty icky with a lot of wax buildup, but it's a start. I had only enough elbow grease for one room, so the other rooms will get the same treatment tomorrow.

Mom scraped soap scum off the bottom row of tiles and removed the bits of decrepit caulk that were left around the tub. Then I impressed her with my mad-crazy caulking skills (hey, I like having good looking caulk, so I'm pretty well practiced) so that the bathtub can be cleaned tomorrow for the first time in goodness knows how long without risking sending more water into the rotting subfloor (the contractor who visited on Friday said there's no risk of me falling through any time soon, so I might as well clean the bathroom so I don't have to look at this nastiness any longer than necessary). Photos to come for sure!

Also up on the agenda for tomorrow: removal of jasmine from the front porch and carport to open it up and demolition of the infested wooden shed at the back of the house.

I'm also getting some help from Nancy who has given me some 1920's oak flooring salvaged from her house remodel. I sure hope I can put it to use! For now, it's going to live in the garage and hopefully not get eaten by my resident termites.

Jackpot!

So, I met another contractor out at The Dump this morning. We talked a bit, took a tour and then discussed goals/objectives, budget, timing etc.

He liked my ideas for the garage/kitchen expansion and in general agreed with a lot of my objectives for The Dump.

The bonus feature is that he does design work too. That means that I could work with him on a basic design plan, keeping construction budget and timing at the forefront before I spend time and money with an architect to do the actual drawings.

He really listened to me, didn't suggest anything wacky or crazy, and said that he would find a way to work within my budget. The plan/phases he suggested were logical and optimized for cost savings, which I appreciate. Instead of coming in and gutting the place at the start and doing everything all at once, he thinks it's better to spend some time designing, get the plans and permits in place and then start work, moving one section at a time.

He said the foundation looks good and that we could level the house where needed, but not go crazy-expensive on foundation corrective work so that the money could be put to other use. He also said that there is no sense rushing to replace the roof right away (it's watertight) since the garage plan directly impacts the roof.

In general, I really liked him. I think he is knowledgeable, honest and that I can trust him to listen to what I have to say. I'll be really interested to see his preliminary quote and next steps. I think he's the one I'd really like to work with, so I sure hope he doesn't break the bank.

Oh yeah...

I almost forgot! As suspected, there was junk in the shed. Two rakes and a plastic shelving unit which I will adopt, an electric weed eater (Craigslist), and a sump pump with hose (not sure what to do with that one). All in all, not as bad as I suspected.

That sump pump worries me though. I know I'm going to do other work to resolve the drainage issues and keep the crawlspace dry, but I'm sure that pump was previously used to pump water out of the crawlspace. I didn't even stick my head down there to see what it looks like after last weekend's rain. I'll let the contractors sort that out.

First steps

Yesterday afternoon was GREAT! I was able to go do a few things around the house that were really satisfying.

Let me start by saying that I found out yesterday that San Mateo County has a subsidized composting program. For $35 I get a really nice composting bin that retails at Smith and Hawken for $129. I'll send in the order form and check today and will get the bin in 1-3 weeks. I figured that it's a great way to plan ahead for spring planting, and a good way to dispose of all the fall yard waste. However, it doesn't resolve my apple issue in a timely manner, so I was prepared to send them to the trash.

When I got to the house, I discovered that the yard waste bin was already full with leaves and grass, so I had no place to put all those apples until the next yard waste pickup (every other Friday, and the next one is 10/5). There are two normal trash cans, so I left one on trash duty and took one to the back yard for the apples. I filled it and still have apples on the ground. However, I have raked them into nice little piles, so you can actually walk around the yard a bit.

After that, I dead headed the roses , raked the gravel driveway smooth, raked all the magnolia leaves into the flower beds (no room in the bin), and swept out the mini-garage, sidewalk and porch before making my first stamp on the place:
Then I went to work on the inside for a bit. I decided to start at the front of the house and will work on one room at a time, gradually working my way to the back, giving it a good cleaning. Even though it's eventually going to be gutted, there is no sense letting the place stay filthy in the interim.

Really, I wanted to see if the living room hardwood floor cleaned up well enough to consider salvaging.

Lots of people thought I was joking when I said they didn't do anything to spruce up the place before listing it. I assure you, they did not, and I have the photos to prove it. So, I vacuumed the baseboards and corners, to eliminate the obvious dirt/dust bundles, then I tried to dry swiffer. It was so dirty that I could hear the grit under the swiffer against the floor. My vacuum does not have a hard floor attachment and it doesn't do too well when I use the rotating brush on the floors, but I figured it was likely to be an improvement over the swiffer, so I ran it across the room.

Then I switched to the swiffer wet mop wipe. This room is NOT large, but it took TWO wipes to get the job done. And here is what they looked like when I was finished (click on photo for full-sized grossness):
EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! But the floor looked worlds better!

By this time, the sun was well into setting, so there was not enough light to take a photo of the floor. In any event, I think they need a good scrubbing on hands and knees with Murphy's Oil Soap and a coat of wax before they really come around. I'll give it a go and if they clean up nicely, I will definitely plan on keeping them and sacrifice my plan for a radiant heating system.

That's it for Day 1. I won't be out there today, but I have a contractor coming first thing tomorrow morning and may even take the day off to spend the day working there. The weekend will be busy for sure.

Today's plan

Got the keys at 7:00 last night, so I didn't go to say hello to The Dump. My plan for today is pretty much the same as what I had planned to do yesterday. I'm going to try to leave work just after lunch to spend the afternoon up there.

Grrrrr......

It's officially recorded at the county clerk office and now belongs to me, but that nasty Listing Agent isn't returning Nora's calls to arrange delivery of the keys. Nora said the title company is sending the paperwork to her office this afternoon and Nora asked him to be sure to get the keys and send it with the paperwork. I guess I won't be able to do anything for yet another day... *sigh*

Finally...

The big day is finally here--I should get the keys to The Dump sometime this afternoon!

Too bad it's a Tuesday and I have lots of work to do this week so I can't go spend every waking minute at The Dump. However, I do plan to spend a few hours there everyday this week. My street's trash day is Friday and I'd like to have all the apples picked up by then so I have an empty can for the weekend.

I bought rubber gardening clogs at Target this weekend so I can fearlessly wade through the apples in shoes that I can hose off. They are pink, were on the clearance rack (sometimes it pays to have big feet) and I LOVE them and all that they represent.

This afternoon will probably involve a run to Home Depot to get some gardening tools/supplies. Yard work is pretty much all I can do on my own right now, but I think it won't take much to perk the place up a bit so that it looks a bit more respectable--clean up the apples, prune the jasmine, deadhead the roses, rake the gravel back into the driveway, pull weeds out of the driveway, pull out dead plants--that sort of thing. I may plant some bedding plants in the next few weeks just to give it a splash of color and the appearance of tidiness.

I'd like to get a couple contractors out there this week and get the big stuff going pronto, but with all the delays and uncertainty about when it was actually going to close, I haven't gotten any on the sched, so they may be all booked for the rest of the week at this point. We'll see!

In any event, I'm really glad to finally be moving on to the next chapter of this saga. More pictures (and way fewer words) to come later this week!

News flash!

I just talked to Nora--the condo sale recorded today. Yay! She's checking to see if the house sale recorded today too. It might have since the check got there early enough. I'm not holding my breath though...

I also told her that if there is anything in the shed tomorrow, I will be loading it into my car and driving it to the listing agent's office for delivery. There better not be a dead body in there...

eeeeew!

Silver lining

I was really bummed out that I didn't get the keys on Friday, but after it rained ALL DAY on Saturday, I don't feel so bad. I wouldn't have been able to do the yard work I had planned to tackle, and there isn't much inside work for me to do right now. The rain gave me a nice chance to curl up with my knitting that I haven't touched in weeks (months?) and generally decompress after all the weeks of moving-induced activity.

I'm staying optimistic that all will progress as planned this week--condo will close today, house will close tomorrow and I'll be on my way. Stay tuned!

No go

It's not closing today. Or Monday. I won't be closing on the house until Tuesday! I'm really disappointed and am thinking very unkind things about Condo Buyer right now that I'm trying very hard not to articulate out loud.

Looking good

It's looking pretty good to close today. Nora said late yesterday that all the paperwork is in place and it just needs to go to the county office to record. That will hopefully happen by noon, but I won't get the keys until later in the afternoon. In that case, I'll be able to unload the patio furniture from my car, but won't have time to do much else. I'll have a busy weekend ahead of me though!

Waiting

Close of escrow is supposed to happen today. There seems to be a glitch in Condo Buyer's paperwork, so it may close today. Or tomorrow. Or Monday. I won't know until it actually, really, finally happens, which is more than a bit annoying. I had wanted to spend some time there tomorrow and have a contractor or two come for a visit. I can't schedule anything now since there is no certainty that the place will be mine tomorrow.

Cleared out the last of my stuff from the condo last night--it was pretty much just fridge items and patio furniture--and ran the wet Swiffer over the floors one last time. All my patio furniture is currently in my car since I thought I'd be closing today and could take it straight there after work. I'll leave it in there until tomorrow, but if it doesn't close tomorrow, I'll unload it at Mom's or the storage place so I'm not driving around with it all weekend. Extra steps, but what can you do?

Glad that's over

I'm SO glad to have the first part of the moving experience behind me. It was so traumatic, I couldn't even write about it for 24 hours. I selected quite possibly the WORST moving company imaginable--they were late, had limited English skills, didn't have the requested packing material, and here's the capper: took 90 minuted to travel 25 miles at a non-peak traffic hour. It was a horribly frustrating, expensive experience. But it's behind me. All my worldly possessions are contained in a 10'x12' room for the duration of this process. I thought I'd be clever and arrange it so that I could access boxes if needed. Not so much. Not a big deal...

I signed all the paperwork yesterday, so now I'm just waiting for the money to do it's dance so that I can relinquish one set of keys for another. Then the fun really begins!

Speaking of fun, I swung by the house after the moving ordeal on Monday and the lock is STILL on the shed. Nora says the listing agent told her that she won't remove it until close of escrow is complete. I sure hope there isn't a pile of "fun" waiting for me in there. I have no idea why they would want to keep that locked up unless they are hiding something in there. Oh well. Time will tell, I guess. I'll have a big dumpster parked in my driveway at some point, so I'll dispose of anything then if necessary.

Stay tuned for some more photos after the weekend. :)

Counting down

Well, it's finally here--the week it all comes together! Here's a little rundown of the next 7 days:

Today: Couch Guy came to pick up the couch. YAY--space! Continued packing like a crazy lady (with LOTS of help from Mom).

Tomorrow: Finish packing. Move more plants to Kat & Billy's house. Take up residence at Mom's.

Monday: Movers come sometime between 8 and 10. Clean condo.

Tuesday: 8 am--go sign paperwork for sale of condo. Time TBD--go sign paperwork for purchase of dump (this may actually happen on Monday). Keep cleaning condo if not finished on Monday.

Wednesday: Say good bye to my little condo for the last time. It's been awesome to me and I know it will be to it's new owner too.

Thursday: Closing day! Money transfers around magically in its little real estate dance.

Friday: Purchase of house records at the county office and I get the keys to my own little dump. I plan to spend the rest of the day raking up apples, cleaning and generally making the house look a little more respectable. I'll also hopefully meet with a contractor or two.

It seems like a looooong ways away at this end, but I know the week is probably going to pass in a flash. Here's hoping it's a smooth flash.

Kitty prozac

My feline roommate has been been a little traumatized of late. What with all the boxes and total disarray, Mali has detected something is afoot. She's poking around in closets where she has previously had no interest, she's snuggling a LOT closer at night and follows me around the house constantly. Her litterbox revealed that her GI system is maybe perhaps experiencing a little distress too. The kicker was that I went to pet her the other day, and her usually fluffy, silky coat is completely matted. Whether that's stress, or a dislike of the allergen reducer wipes I've begun using recently, she's a mess.

However, for as concerned or stressed as she is during the day, nighttime yields a much bolder, louder, athletic Mali.

Fortunately, I recently read about a product that restores feline bliss:
It's a little plug-in that releases the feline happy pheromone into the air, making cats feel calm and happy. Of course my favorite pet supply store did not have the plug in portion, so I bought a refill bottle and just popped it open for now. I was dubious, but I figured it was worth a try if it was going to reduce the nighttime antics and make the litterbox a happier place.

I think it might actually be working. The past two night have been markedly quiet. I'll be interested to see the effects after I actually plug it into the diffuser.

I think Mali is going to need a haircut to conquer all those matted furballs, but that's a trauma I'll save for another day.

Stuff

Why do we accumulate so much STUFF as we travel through life? As I'm packing what seems to be a never ending stream of belongings, it has made me ponder this. Many are sentimental--hand me downs from my Nana, or memories from adventures, gifts, etc.

For example, I love to cook and bake and many friends know this and so give me kitchen-themed gifts. Do I really need three sets of mixing bowls? A drawer full of gadgets? An endless supply of kitchen towels? I think not.

I'm feeling like I'm under the gun to get everything all ready to move, so I'm not even pausing to weed out anymore. I'm packing things that my or may not find a home in my new house and am simply chucking non-breakable stuff into boxes willy nilly. As I do, I vow to be more discriminating as I unpack. I will certainly have the mother of all yard sales after I move in to the house.

When I do, take a wild guess what I'm NOT going to do with the proceeds... That's right, I'm not got to use them to buy more stuff! I'll put it toward a landscaping fund, or my entertainment kitty, or toss it into savings or something equally productive.

Even with all the stuff, I think I've made good progress this weekend. Took a load of plants to Kat's house for babysitting (and so that she can use up the basil before it fades for the season), and have pretty much emptied the storage closet downstairs. All that remains are cans of paint that I don't know what to do with, by trainer for my bike, and Mali's travel cage. YAY! Though I do need to collect Rosie (cruiser bike) from Natalia who borrowed her while her mom was visiting so they could go cruising into town.

This time next week I'll be completely packed up and ready for the movers to come at 8:00 on Monday morning.

Toasty!

HOT here this weekend. Even so, I've stayed pretty motivated about hauling boxes around. I took a load of stuff up to storage today and assembled a shelving unit that will hopefully help keep things organized. My car is presently loaded for another trip tomorrow. Funtimes!

My storage unit here at the condo is almost empty, and just in time as I discovered a water leak in there on Saturday! It could have been really messy a few weeks ago, but thankfully it wasn't. My goal is to have it completely empty this week.

I spent this evening at Home Depot looking at cabinets, fixtures, flooring, paint, roofing material...pretty much everything. I was trying to get ideas for the house, but really, I needed an hour in some AC.

I spotted a house a few blocks away that has the exact gray exterior, white trim and red door that I'm seeking (I'll take a pic this week). I may go ask them for some info on their paint as it would sure beat getting a bunch of sample quarts and testing all the colors.

Semantics

I called a number of storage places this week and discovered that second floor units are cheaper, which makes complete sense to me, particularly when they do not have an elevator. Most of them do--one of my standard questions this week. Though I will be hiring movers to get out of Cedar Terrace, there is a high likelihood I'll use a U-Haul to move out of storage and into the house, so an elevator is essential.

My first stop today was a little mom and pop storage facility in a sketchy area where you had to get out of your car to activate the keypad to get into the complex. Minor detail since they had offered 1/2 off the price for 3 months (yay!) for 2nd floor units, confirmed that they had a "lift," and the gentleman who answered my questions was so very nice. There is apparently a difference between a "lift" and an "elevator," and I'm not talking about the difference between American English and British English.

After ringing the bell and being told by a property manager that they were not open today (I told her that her husband had told me they would be), I got in. We discussed my needs and she was so unpleasant and PO'd at her husband that I'm surprised she didn't send HIM down to deal with me in the 90-degree heat.

She takes me out to see the unit and we go upstairs and down a rather narrow hallway. She showed me the unit and I asked, "where is the elevator?"
She replied, "We don't have an elevator--we have a lift."
Curious, I asked, "Is it cargo sized or person sized?"
"If you have furniture, you'll have a difficult time getting it up here," came the reply.
"Thank you very much. I won't waste any more of your time."
I bet she gave him hell when she went back to the house!

I drove to the next one which has two different sized units, one of which they said was right next to the elevator. Unfortunately, they had rented the 8x10 on between Thursday and now, so I looked at the 10x13. I agreed to it even though I think it may end up being bigger than I really need. I'd hate to be moving in and find out it's not big enough, so I went with it. They were very nice and threw in a free padlock. Cool. Oh, and it really was right next to the elevator, which is big enough for a small car.

So, between this and scheduling service shut off with both AT&T and PG&E, I feel like I've been very productive in the past 24 hours, despite it being 70 degrees out at 6:30 AM and 90-something during the day.

Next up: securing a moving company.

Weekend plans

OK, it is time to get SERIOUS about packing. I had a minor freakout last night when I looked at the calendar and realized I really only have 2.5 weeks before I have to get out of my condo. Eeeeeeek! I know what I'll be doing ALL weekend of this blistering hot three day weekend.

I got some rate quotes on storage units yesterday and I'll go look a them tomorrow since I'll be in RWC for a morning run with my Nike marathon chicas. I may even book it tomorrow just to have it done and out of the way since I'm realizing how much other stuff needs to be done in a very short time. I guess I can move some boxes and such into it over this weekend and next weekend before the actual move. If nothing else, I can move the shelving from my condo's storage locker into the unit to get it ready for the big day.

Locked and loaded!

My buyer finally removed the last of her contingencies today, which in turn enabled me to remove mine from the house, so it's now really locked and loaded. Unless we have a massive earthquake between now and then that causes the peninsula to fall into the ocean, it's a done deal. :)

Craigslist has been quite productive for me this week. My desk left on Monday and I have a buyer for the couch--bonus that he doesn't want it until Sept 15, which is right about when I'd be moving out. I've had a few nibbles on the chair, but both people flaked on actually coming to see it. I'll post it again on Friday and maybe the weekend will bring some action.

I finally went to my acupuncturist today after 3 months of some serious neck-shoulder issues that chiropractic wasn't really helping (it would feel better for about 10 days and then go back to the way it was). Dr. Sijbrant started poking around my shoulder blade and jokingly said that he thinks I'm growing a baby in there. Anyway, tiger balm, a gazillion needles and some e-stim managed to make it a bit more pliable. I'll be going back next week so he can have another crack at it. At least I had a nice 60 minute relaxation and snooze time and I should sleep GREAT tonight for the first time in quite some time.

Getting back on track

Sounds like Condo Buyer will be able to remove her financing contingency tomorrow. I'll remove mine on the house and extend the close of escrow date tomorrow as well.

The piece-of-work Listing Agent had still not changed the MLS status from Active to Pending in the hopes of getting another offer in the interim. Of course she didn't so once the paperwork is completed tomorrow, I'll be locked and loaded. She's really unpleasant, and I think I should probably burn some sage in the house once it's mine to shake off her bad juju.

I got the first construction quote today. I'll need to go over it in detail and also refine the scope of the work to be done. More on that later.

Yard sale success

Yesterday a girlfriend who has recently moved and I held a yard sale to declutter and hopefully make a little cash while we're at it. It went really well--we each made at least $100 and the stuff that didn't sell was dropped off at Goodwill afterward. I'm pretty sure I'll have another one sometime after I unpack at the house and think "Why on earth did I move this?"

After a well-deserved burrito, we went and wandered Ikea for some budget-friendly design inspiration. Char has moved into a lower-cost rental than her last place with a plan to save aggressively to buy a house next year. She doesn't want to spend a lot of money decorating this place since the stuff may or may not be what she wants in a house of her own. Me, I'm fully aware that my couch is much too large for the layout of my new living room, but that I'm not going to have a lot of money for fine furnishings after doing extensive remodeling. We both left with some great ideas and little wish lists to be executed in due time.

All in all, it was an exhausting day, but well worth it.

No new news on the transaction front. My buyer indicated she'd be removing her contingency on Monday (even though the extension form was made out for Weds), so I hope we're back on track. Close of escrow has also been extended by 9 days on the condo and 13 days on the house, so I've taken a breather from packing this week, especially since I needed to prep for the yard sale. I'll renew my efforts starting today. Need to find a storage unit too....

Hurdles

Well, yesterday was a rough day. Condo Buyer is late removing her financing contingency, which is making me late removing mine from the house. She was supposed to remove on Friday, then said maybe on Monday, and yesterday said it will not happen before next week, and oh, by the way, needs to push out the close of escrow by a week. eeeeeek!

Since I need the funds from the condo sale to buy the house, I cannot remove my financing contingency until she removes hers. This whole thing could implode if Condo Buyer is not able to perform in the end. House Agent is not very pleasant or cooperative, so Nora has worked some magic to get her to be patient and continue working with us by accepting extensions on the contingency removal and close of escrow.

Needless to say, I was rather distraught yesterday when this was all unfolding. At this moment, I am trying to wait patiently for the next step from Condo Buyer. It definitely made for a sleepless night.

Inspiration

Here's a style I'm thinking about deploying in my kitchen:
I really like the simple, clean lines of the cabinet detail, and the dark wood is brightened by light color counters, floors and backsplash (not to mention adequate lighting). It's a nice blend of modern and traditional, so I think my little house will be able to pull it off. My only concern is if having the dark wood in the really small space will make it look too cramped. The kitchen is quite sunny, so it might work out fine.

Planning, planning, planning and more planning

Locked in my interest rate today, so that's one item to check off the stress-inducing tasks list. I'm not going to allow myself to fret about it anymore. The lending market is super-crazy right now and I know that it'll be better at some point in the future and when it is, I will make changes if necessary and advantageous. So there! Mortgage nightmares be gone!

This means I need to get down to the business of really planning all the work that needs to be done to my little house. I met Contestant #3 at the house last night. He's the contractor I had come out to look at the house before I even made an offer. He can talk the hind leg off a mule, but he's a good guy. However, after an hour with him, he says that he'd still need to do a walk through with all his sub contractors before he can generate a bid. Boooooo!

He'd already seen the property and we'd talked about the work necessary to bring it up to code as well as some other improvements the first time he was out there. I even sent him my RFP in advance thinking he'd review it before he got there. Not so much. I decided that he's probably not likely to be a finalist, so I told him I'd have him come back with his subs after I take ownership since it's not exactly convenient for Nora to come up from Saratoga to RWC all the time.

I have a feeling that I'm going to go with contestant #1. He has done work in Nora's house, which is a referral in itself, and his ballpark number is VERY attractive. I have yet to see a formal bid from him, so I'll decide once I do.

On a positive note, it looks like the floors are worth salvaging if they don't need to be ripped up for the foundation work. Bonus that a friend who recently remodeled her house has offered me some 1920's red oak floor planks rescued from her house. I sure hope they are the right size to do a little patching here and there. There probably is not enough to do the whole kitchen floor, but my tiny little house might be in luck!

One thing is very certain at this point: the day I get the keys will see me out there raking up apples from the back yard. The stench of rotting apples is powerful indeed, and that doesn't even begin to address the mushy mess.

Holding Pattern

It's been a few days with no real action. After a flurry of initial activity, I'm in a bit of a holding pattern until the close of escrow when I can actually start moving on getting stuff done. I'm waiting for bids from the two contractors I met last week, and am meeting a third contractor out at the property tomorrow night.

My financing plans have changed, so my plan of attack has changed too. With all the turmoil going on in the mortgage market, I decided against using the renovation financing. In addition to the various points and other fees charged by Wells Fargo, adding the $$$ to do the renovations pushed it up into jumbo mortgage territory, with really horrible consequences on the interest rate (even with the full point!). So, I'm doing conventional financing and will begin doing the critical work with cash left over from the sale of my condo. That means all the corrective work--foundation, roof, windows, electrical--necessary to bring the house up to code.

Once it's habitable, I'll partially move in (read: bed and a few essential items) and will progress with interior work like the bath remodel and kitchen expansion/garage addition after opening a HELOC in another 4-6 months. My aggressive schedule is to have it completed in 12 months, my more conservative estimate is 18 months. Either way, I know it is going to take a lot of money, patience and work, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

It would be nice to get all the work done up front, but I'm being optimistic that this will enable me to better plan the kitchen and avoid making hasty decisions. It will also give me time to look into the possibility of enclosing the full carport to make a real garage so I can do that and the kitchen expansion in one fell swoop.

I spoke with someone at the county planning office on Friday and I may be in luck since the house is a "non-conforming structure" (meaning it does not adhere to the 5' setback rules) on a "non-conforming parcel" (a lot that is below a certain size). Also since the carport has a roof and pillars, it's technically a "structure" and I'd simply be enclosing it rather than constructing it. Nice little loophole, I think.

A few more random photos

Here are a few more random photos of the house that didn't fit in with the other posts from last night. Click on the photo for a larger version.

This is the hallway off the kitchen:
That door to the left is the smaller bedroom, the door to the right is the bathroom, and the larger bedroom is at the end of the hall. I'm trying to decide what to do for heating upgrade. If I tear up the floors, I'll see about putting in radiant heat. If I don't tear up the floors, I'll probably do HVAC, but all that ductwork is going to be a pain in the tush.

Here is the chimney and it's really pretty climbing rose:
The TV antenna would go. The chimney has a crack in the masonry. I think I'm going to do a gas insert instead of repairing it. I know Santa Clara County code requires a gas insert if you do any fireplace repair because they are trying to reduce the number of wood burning fireplaces to improve air quality. I don't know if San Mateo county has the same code. Regardless, I think gas is the way to go.

While we're talking about it, here's the fireplace:

On the front of the house is a little garagey-shed thing. It's not big enough to park a car in it, and it's definitely an addition. I'm not too sure what to do with it. I think garage conversions generally look like crap, but I don't think I have enough easement available to build a real garage. That's my tentative long-term plan, so I'm going to leave it as is for now. I'm definitely relocating the water heater out here, and maybe the furnace if I end up with one.

I'd like to build a garage that uses the whole existing carport slab, which is the maximum of my setback, but I think I'm too close to the neighbor's for that to get approved. I'll have to look into it since there is certainly a lack of easement going on in general. I think my neighbor's house is a mere 6 feet away (I hope they are nice!). I have seen 2 cats in the windows, so maybe Mali will make some friends to stare at across the sidewalk between our houses.

So there you have it, the expanded tour of the grounds. I should be getting bids back early next week and will likely have to adjust my plans after that, but we will see!

Bathroom

I honestly LOVE the tile in the bathroom. It's bright and cheery and super-retro cool. Alas, the sub floor is rotted, so the whole thing needs to go to the big shower in the sky. But, before it goes, here are some photos of it so you too can enjoy the retro funk:

Kitchen Detail

Here are some better photos of the kitchen space. It's hard to get good photos because the place is so small, I can't stand back far enough to get a sweeping panorama. :) I'll probably knock out that wall to incorporate the laundry room into the kitchen. It means having my washer and dryer in the kitchen, but I'll take that for now until I am able to build a proper garage and/or laundry room where the garagey-shed currently lives.

You can see the stove is quite the antique. It may even fetch some money on craigslist. I'll give that a go before posting is as a "free, you haul" item.

For the size of the house, it is definitely not lacking in windows. This is the dining area of the kitchen, which as mom pointed out, I neglected to include on the 5 cent tour:
Not much to see.

The kitchen needs serious work to upgrade it in a way that will improve the traffic flow of the house, so I'm sure it's going to take the most planning of everything.

Backyard

Here are some photos of the backyard. I spared you a photo of the hideous metal shed that takes up 25% of the yard. Instead, I give you apples:

I have no idea how a tree that is so totally butchered can produce so many apples. It is quite a nasty sight to behold. And the apples are EVERYWHERE!!!! That tree will be removed as soon as humanly possible. It hangs over the roofline, and also hangs into my neighbor's yard, so I'm going to remove it now before it has a chance to cause some more serious trouble.

That shed next to the apples is also going to be removed asap. Doing so will give me a little patio (approx 4' x 5') on which I can put my bistro table and chairs. Nice. That's the window to the big bedroom, so I'm even thinking about making that a door so I have access to my nice little patio.

There are some healthy looking camellia plants near the back wall of the house. I'll be interested to see what they do. I'll leave them alone for now.

As you can see below, I desperately need a new fence on two sides, so I'll negotiate that with the neighbors after the rest of the construction is complete. At that point, I hope they'll realize that I'm adding tons of value to their property by improving mine, and a shiny, sturdy new fence will only further that trend.
Since I know your interest is so piqued, and I'm sure you're tired of seeing apples, here's little corner of the Big Ugly Shed peeking out from the left side of the photo:
I plan to post that bad boy as a freebie on craigslist. I might leave it there during construction if they want to use it for storage of equipment or materials since my garage storage it pretty small.

I'm thinking of doing raised beds along the fences, but landscaping is really the least of my worries at this point, so I have plenty of time to come up with some ideas. I'm open to suggestions!